"Young madam! Why did you sleep on the floor last night? It wouldn't do to catch a chill!"
An elderly man wearing a standard vintage butler's uniform and round gold-rimmed glasses stood at the bedside, his expression grave as he earnestly admonished him.
It had happened last night.
After the wedding banquet, Luo Beishi had been trussed up, thrown into Huo Cixiao's room, and locked inside.
But unexpectedly, stubborn as he was, he had broken free of the ropes through sheer tenacity!
At the time, he hadn't so much as glanced at the person on the bed before boldly leaping from the second floor!
Unfortunately, his head had struck a potted plant downstairs, and so, alas, he had awakened!
He had also been forcibly bound to a babyish system! Yes, the system said it was called the "Villain Face-Slapping Protagonist System" and the "Check-In Money-Making System"!
Although the penniless Luo Beishi still didn't know how much the rewards would be, he was sorely tempted!
After all, not only was he the Luo family's fake young master who had been switched at birth, he was also completely broke.
When he had first awakened, the system had also informed him that the world he inhabited was a book, and its protagonist gong was Huo Cifeng, his vegetative husband's younger half brother by the same father.
And his own identity was the cannon-fodder wife of Huo Cixiao, the book's greatest villain.
According to the plot, he should have fled to Hai City with a limp at this point, only to be caught and brought back in less than a day.
After being brought back, he would frequently abuse and beat his vegetative husband in secret.
Not only that, he would often go off to pester the protagonist gong, and all his attempts to trip up the protagonist shou would only get his own face slapped. He was an extremely dedicated piece of cannon fodder.
And the first thing his vegetative husband would do upon waking three years later was throw him into a den of vicious wolves, where he would be torn apart and eaten!
"Host! Host! That's not right! You were obviously terrified! Your legs were shaking when you jumped from the second floor!"
The baby-voiced system hastily corrected him.
"Oh, come on! Don't sweat the details!" And how could you eavesdrop on my thoughts? Block them out, now!
"Wah!" The system could only disconnect, feeling thoroughly wronged.
Seeing Luo Beishi frown, Uncle Chen assumed he was growing impatient and about to lose his temper. In fact, they had known last night that the madam wanted to run away, so today, everyone in the villa had been instructed not to mention it.
"Hello, sir. May I ask what I should call you from now on?" Luo Beishi's expression changed, and he smiled slightly.
Uncle Chen hadn't expected the madam to actually say "from now on"! Did that mean the madam wouldn't try to run away again?
"My surname is Chen. You can just call me Uncle Chen from now on, madam. I've watched the young master grow up, and now he's been lying in bed for over a year..."
After mentioning Huo Cixiao, Uncle Chen's expression gradually grew downcast.
The corners of Luo Beishi's lips lifted, and he interrupted in a calm, gentle voice. "Uncle Chen, since I've already married Huo Cixiao, it's a done deal.
"I wasn't trying to run away last night. I only wanted to get some air, but then my earring fell. I quickly reached out to catch it, but who knew I'd lose my balance? After that... that happened."
The Luo Beishi before him had beautiful silver-white hair, exquisitely delicate features, and amber eyes. No matter how Uncle Chen looked at him, he resembled a finely crafted doll, and his unexpectedly gentle, polite manner of speaking caught Uncle Chen by surprise.
Put that way, it did seem to make sense. Could that really be what had happened? Uncle Chen hardly dared believe it.
"Then, madam, how about I have someone raise the balcony railing tomorrow?"
"No need. Raising the iron railing would block the sunlight, too. Huo Cixiao wouldn't be able to bask in the sun."
Uncle Chen hadn't expected this young madam, married into the family to bring good fortune, to be so considerate!
He had long heard that the young madam was in love with Young Master Huo Cifeng. Yet now, not only did the madam show no reaction, he was actually so thoughtful toward his young master.
So the madam was such a kind person, keeping everything buried in his heart! Even after coming here to endure this hardship, he still greeted them with a smile. He seemed to be a good child, nothing like the awful person others described.
Watching Uncle Chen's eyes gradually redden, Luo Beishi immediately panicked.
"System! Come out! What's wrong with Uncle Chen? What do I do?"
"Host! Hurry, ask that no one else attend to your husband from now on! Your daily task is to massage your vegetative husband!" the system shouted anxiously in its babyish voice.
"Um, Uncle Chen, please don't cry! Hiss..." Urged on by the system, Luo Beishi grew anxious as well. He was still wearing a brace; last night's fall had injured his head and twisted his neck, too. Moving his head hurt.
"I have a request now. I hope you won't be too surprised when you hear it, all right?"
Hearing that, Uncle Chen instantly went from sadness to nervousness. Surely the madam isn't asking to see the second young master! That won't do! Madam, please don't say it! The master is still listening!
Filled with worry, Uncle Chen spoke apprehensively. "Young madam... please go ahead."
"I hope that, from now on, Huo Cixiao's massages and nursing care... in short, whenever I'm here, I'll be responsible for all of it.
"All right? I want to fulfill my duties as his partner. I can let other things go, but not this." Luo Beishi spoke to him with utmost sincerity.
Uncle Chen first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked deeply troubled again. "Young madam... you don't know how exhausting it is to care for someone. I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to keep going after even half a day."
Luo Beishi had expected Uncle Chen to say that, but he still didn't back down. His voice was as firm as if he were swearing an oath. "I won't give up! I can do without anything else, but you have to leave these things to me!"
His life and his fortune were at stake here! Blocking his path was the same as taking his life!
Uncle Chen was still uneasy. After all, this was his precious eldest young master. "Madam, you're not a nursing student. Besides, you're still in school..."
"System! What do I do? He's right! I don't know how to do that..." Uncle Chen's words left Luo Beishi a little hesitant. What if his care ended up harming Huo Cixiao instead...
"Host, don't worry. To avoid delaying our progress, I'll now upload 'The Complete Guide to Caring for Vegetative Patients' and 'Ten Massage Techniques for Vegetative Patients' into your brain."
"Bzz..." A faint, electric tingling passed through his mind.
Before he could react, a wealth of unfamiliar knowledge suddenly appeared in Luo Beishi's mind!
Once again, he marveled at how the vast world held every conceivable wonder. What check-in system or face-slapping villain system? This was clearly a cheat!
"Don't worry, Uncle Chen. Although I haven't obtained any certification, I've memorized all the books and videos on caring for vegetative patients, and I've learned all the massage techniques.
"If you're worried about time, I'll stop going to school!"
Seeing Luo Beishi's do-or-die attitude, Uncle Chen couldn't help sighing. This young madam really caught people off guard.
Even the person on the other end of the phone hadn't expected Luo Beishi to be willing to give up school to care for Huo Cixiao, as though he had made Huo Cixiao the top priority in his life.
Author's note:
1. Pure wish fulfillment. Letting loose.
2. Please toss your brain aside before reading... all right, you can go in now.
3. Sticklers for accuracy, proceed with caution.
4. Leans toward comedy, with plenty of original settings.
5. Both leads have no prior romantic or sexual experience.
6. The gong is in a vegetative state.
7. A fictional world!